Playoff Game Day: Calgary Hitmen at Edmonton Oil Kings

Keep your eyes on Brady Brassart and Trevor Cheek

Brady Brassart, seen celebrating a goal with teammate Spencer Humphries,

Photograph by: Stuart Gradon
, Calgary Herald

Calgary Hitmen at Edmonton Oil Kings

2013 WHL Eastern Conference finals

(best-of-seven series)

Game 1 --- Rexall Place, Thursday, 7 p.m.

Radio: SN 960

THE HITMEN

KEEP YOUR EYE ON

C BRADY BRASSART

Loves setting the tone and has done so with hat-tricks in both of Calgary’s series openers. Feisty around the net, you can expect him to be chattering at Edmonton’s defencemen tonight — just in case they forgot about him from the teams’ heated regular season series.

DEPTH CHART

C. Sylvester B. Brassart J. Virtanen

G. Chase V. Rask B. Macek C. Mayor C. Brooks C. Lang

E. Peterson C. Clayton Z. Jones

J. Rissling S. Humphries

A. Roach J. Zgraggen

P. Kosterman C. Harmsworth C. Driedger

M. Shields

THE INJURIES

D Kenton Helgesen (hand), RW Pavlo Padakin (knee)

THE OIL KINGS

KEEP YOUR EYE ON

C TREVOR CHEEK

Faced with an overage problem at the start of the season (as in, one too many), the Hitmen were forced to part ways with Cheek, trading him to Vancouver, who later dealt him to Edmonton. Almost reborn, the undrafted 20-year-old signed with the Colorado Avalanche and has been one of the Oil Kings’ top playoff producers .

DEPTH CHART

H. Samuelsson C. Lazar D. Wruck

M. St. Croix T. Cheek S. Legault

T. Ewanyk M. Moroz E. Kulda

L. Bertolucci T.J. Foster B. Baddock

K. Lowe D. Musil

G. Reinhart C. Corbett

M. Gernat D. Mayo

L. Brossoit

T. Jarry

FIVE THINGS TO WATCH

1. Underdog mentality? — Some may think the Calgary Hitmen are the underdogs this series. On paper, sure. But it’s not a theme that they’re riding in this year’s playoffs. After all, they’re no eighth-seeded Cinderella squad and deserve just as much respect as the defending WHL champion Oil Kings do. “I don’t know if it’s been an underdog thought in our dressing room as much as we know we have a great team,” offered Hitmen forward Calder Brooks. “Last year, we had a great team as well but it didn’t work in playoffs. So, I think this year, it’s a much more positive room going into playoffs. And it still is. It’s a lot of fun coming to the rink.”

2. Tight games — No question the Hitmen have the more experienced team when it comes to close contests in playoffs. Although the Oil Kings had a few difficult battles, Calgary has been in five overtime games and has been typically only winning games by one or two goals (aside from Game 5’s 5-1 victory over the Rebels). Could sharpness in this area help them?

3. Local boys — There are more than a few connections to the City of Champions heading into this series. Calgary defenceman Jaynen Rissling grew up in Edmonton as an Oilers fan while winger Colten Mayor hails from St. Albert and forward Greg Chase is from Sherwood Park. Also growing up (relatively) close by was Kenton Helgesen in Fairview. Meanwhile, Oil Kings’ Mitch Moroz and David Musil were both born in Calgary. Goaltender Laurent Brossoit’s connection to Calgary is as a Flames prospect while forward Trevor Cheek played two full seasons with the Hitmen before being traded.

4. Road warriors — The Hitmen dominated away from the Dome, especially early on in the 2012-13 regular season campaign (24-11-0-1). In the playoffs, it’s been a little more difficult as they split their road games, dropping both Game 3’s at Swift Current and Red Deer. For the first time in the playoffs, they’re opening a series on the road. Edmonton, meanwhile, is undefeated (4-0) away from Rexall Place in the post-season.

5. Battle of Alberta — Calgary may have won the regular season series against the Oil Kings (4-2), but that was ages ago. In a weird scheduling quirk, the two squads played their entire six-game series before Santa came. It’s enough motivation for the Hitmen, knowing they can win against the 2012 WHL champions. But the Oil Kings are at the top of their game. “Two of the biggest cities in Alberta, going at it,” said Calgary’s Greg Chase. “It’s been a rivalry in the NHL for a long time — so why not make it a rivalry in the WHL?”

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